Life After Brotherhood
by PurpleMaple
Summary: Set after Brotherhood, see how the lives of all your favourite characters came to be. Seen mostly from the Mustang family point of view, see how Amestris has changed, how relationships stand, and learn of the evils that still lurk beneath the surface. *Spoilers for '09 anime and manga* *Lots of pairings* DISCONTINUED
1. Prologue

Prologue

The Fuhrer was sitting at his desk, glancing out of his window staring off into space. It was a laid back day at Central Command, the payload slightly lighter than usual, and with only one meeting to discuss trade routes with neighboring countries, the day went by without any issues. He glanced over at the clock across the room and let a smirk appear on his face. "Looks like it's quitting time". He got up, stretched and walked across his office and opened his doors to his waiting office that was occupied by his secretary and his most trusted subordinates. He looked around the room and smiled at his secretary, who was the only one in the office. She turned when she heard the door open and gave him a small but genuine smile. "Is it time to go already sir?" she spoke, the smile never leaving her face.

"Yes but where is Brigadier General Mustang?" the Fuhrer glanced around the large room once again.

"Most likely at the training grounds practicing like every other Monday sir" she said while she was finishing filing the day's work in their respective places in the filing cabinets along the far wall.

"Well care to join me in my search for the General? It's getting dark and I can't let my secretary walk around headquarters' alone, let alone walk herself home" the Fuhrer gradually said as he approached his secretary from behind. She turned and walked over to her desk to collect her purse before she could be cornered by the Fuhrer, "If you insist sir." She then headed to the door with the Fuhrer right on her heels, then they left the office after locking the door and headed for the training grounds at the back of the building.

The training ground was set up in a colosseum like fashion. The area opened up in the center upon entry to allow state alchemists along with hand-to-hand combat training cadets and soldiers, practice areas to hone their skills. There was also seating that raked upwards gradually and could accommodate a large audience if necessary. As the Fuhrer and his Secretary approached the building, the tail ends of flames could be seen above the tops of the colosseum, a feat in itself since the building is around 48 meters high.

"Wow, someone must have ruffled the Generals feathers in order to produce that much flame " the Secretary said as they got closer to the entrance, the Fuhrer was unfazed by the show of power. "That may be the case, or the General is getting stronger" the Fuhrer deduced as they walked through the entrance and saw the General, dodging and somersaulting out of the way of large arrow heads being launched from the opposite side of the arena.

"Care to watch the General at work, I haven't watched in a while, plus I don't believe we've been spotted yet". The Fuhrer gave a lopsided grin to his aide. "I don't see the problem in doing that sir, I don't have to be home right away" she responded with a slight smile and lead the way up the steps. She sat about mid way up the rows of seats and towards the middle, allowing for a perfect view of the General. Once they were seated they could see that Major General Armstrong was providing the spikes from the opposite end of the area. The dust cleared from the recent attack and the General could be seen towards the middle of the arena poised with both hands up ready to snap. As the dust settled, a booming voice echoed across the arena. "Excellent job General! Ready to give it one more shot?"

"Ready when you are Armstrong!" the General shouted back, adjusting their footing and tightening the gloves on their hands while still keeping a composed look. All of a sudden earth like pillars shot out of the ground and raced towards the General at an alarming rate, and a sudden snap sounded and flames shot outward and engulfed the pillars, leaving the General perfectly unscathed. The attack took a mere four seconds to occur and die down, it took quite a bit of skill to react that quickly. The Fuhrer stood up along with his secretary and clapped at the Generals performance.

"Wow you've improved since last week General, you should be proud because I certainly am."

The General twirled around at the sound of the Fuhrers voice and snapped into a salute, Armstrong approached behind the General and repeated the gesture. The Fuhrer waved it off and walked out onto the field, his secretary right by his side.

"The only reason I have improved is because of Major Armstrong here offering his time to allow me to practice, and I have a pretty good teacher as well." The General spoke with the family trade mark smirk on their face.

"Well I would love to meet your master one of these days and have a word with him, I hear that he is a devilishly handsome man, with a great personality and hair" the Fuhrer spoke, while rubbing his chin in a semi smug gesture.

"Don't forget the fact that he cannot grow facial hair, has a god-like complex, and wanted all female personnel to wear miniskirts" the General spoke while crossing their arms. Armstrong had to cover his mouth to hold back a chuckle at the face the Fuhrer was making.

"And don't forget a procrastinator, a former womanizer and was useless in the rain." His secretary spoke beside him while giving a wink to the now chuckling General whilst trying to stifle her own laughter.

"Riza that's enough, notice how three of the things you both said were in past-tense so ha, and second, Riley-Mae Mustang is that really the tone you use towards your Fuhrer." He spoke while staring daggers at his wife and daughter.

"Oh please, the fact that you are here right now means that it's quitting time and the formalities are done for the day Dad" she spoke, with the smirk growing ever so widely on her face.

"Why do you look like your mother but you had to get that smirk from me, no wonder Edward always shivers whenever he sees you do that. I'm sorry to say that it is a little unnerving."

"You were the one who taught her that Roy, so you are the only one to blame." Riza spoke, with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

All of a sudden they were scooped up and held in Armstrong's vice like grip, tears streaming down his face and his sparkles floating around them and his now, suddenly, bared chest as he bellowed. "The Mustang family will be known to playfully banter for generations! The Flame Alchemist and the former Hawk's Eye were complete once the Flame Eye joined their lovely family and they together will make this country proud!"

"Armstrong... we... can't... breathe..." The Mustang's managed to speak.

Armstrong slowly lowered them back to the ground , then stood straight while wiping the tears from his eyes. "Oh I am terribly sorry, I got swept up in the moment, you are the picture of families that others strive to achieve!"

"Ah thanks Armstrong? Anyways thank you once again for using your spare time to help me out with Alchemy combat training." Riley turned and gave Armstrong a salute.

"It was no trouble dear, I'm always willing to assist the Mustang family."

"Speaking of assisting, do you need help cleaning up the Arena? I feel bad if I left you to alchematize it back by yourself."

"Actually Riley I could assist, you go on ahead and gather your things, besides I'm a little rusty and I need the extra practice" Roy spoke while cracking his knuckles, which received raised eyebrows from his family.

"Okay sure, knock yourself out there Dad." Riley, Riza and Armstrong walked off the field and into the bleachers. Roy took the time to quickly go through the formulas to repair the small craters that were blasted into the earth from Riley's attacks, he then clapped his hands and slammed them down onto the ground. The entire area lit up with blue light and the ground shifted and filled in all the craters, once the light stopped, Roy stood straight and turned to his family and Armstrong, letting a huge smirk make its way onto his face.

"Glad to know your age isn't affecting your brain too much there Dad, otherwise you might have caused the arena to collapse." Riley spoke as she made her way towards the exit of the arena. Her mom and the now fully clothed Armstrong, were crossing the field to talk to Roy.

"Did you just call me _old_ Riley?" Roy bellowed across the way towards his daughter, his face showing the slightest bit of irritation.

"I may have, sorry about that Pa."

Calling Roy Pa sent him over the edge, he usually was quite composed when it came to his anger, but not so much when it came to someone calling him out on his age, and Riley certainly knew exactly what buttons to push in order to get him over the edge. Before anyone knew it , Roy was booking it towards his daughter giving chase, and as Riley realized this, she turned on a dime and ran out of the arena laughing as she went. Armstrong was standing there chuckling to himself over the father-daughter shenanigans while Riza merely shook her head.

"I have no idea how you are able to deal with those two Mrs. Mustang" Armstrong spoke, as he and Riza made their way towards the exit following the sounds of both Roy and Riley's laughter.

"I think it helps that they are usually quite composed while on duty, so when they get like this, I let it run its course, it makes it easier to coax them to go to bed instead of them getting absorbed in their research or anything else that they feel needs their attention other than sleep." Armstrong glanced down at the First Lady, seeing a tiny heartfelt smile appear on her face as they left the arena, they saw Roy fling Riley over his shoulder and spin her around. Their laughter resounding off the outside of the Arena and Central Command.

"Well on that note I bid you farewell First Lady, I will see you tomorrow. Bye Mustang, bye Riley."

"Have a good evening Armstrong." Roy waved with his freehand.

"See you tomorrow, thanks again." Riley waved over her father's back.

Armstrong headed towards Central Command while Riza walked towards her family, the smile slowly growing wider the closer she got. _"What did I do to deserve a family like this?"_ She stopped a few feet away and watched Riley struggle to get free of her father's grasp, if the situation was dire, Riley could easily get out of the predicament, but since it was just her father goofing around, she went along with it.

"Okay that's enough you two, if I remember correctly Roy, you have a meeting with the Assembly tomorrow at 09:00 hours and Riley, you have to be at the range by 09:30 hours to get your fire arms licence renewed, and if I know you , you won't be up in time to make it unless you both go to bed soon."

"Fine." They both said as Roy put Riley back on her feet. They dusted themselves off, their faces slightly flushed from laughing, and headed back towards their home, which was located at the far corner of Central Command's property.

Roy stepped in time with Riza on his right, slipping an arm around her waist. Riley also fell back to his left side, and he used his free hand to mess up her long blonde hair. It was a few shades darker than Riza's and went down past her shoulder blades, a few strands fell from her ponytail that was draped over her right shoulder. She shot him a glare from her deep brown eyes, darker than Riza's, probably thanks to his obsidian eye genes. Riley looked more like Riza, the few little tie ins to Roy were her little quirks, like his smirk and his flame alchemy. She also had some other little quirks that she got from her father, only close family and friends could pick out the similarities. Of course she still had quirks that were distinctly Riley, and that made her unique.

Roy took this moment to look at his family, he ended up with the woman whom he has known since he was a teenager. She vowed to protect him and follow him into Hell if asked to. He thought his life couldn't get any better until his daughter was born, she completed his family. He thought he didn't deserve the life he had now after the monstrosities he committed in Ishval, but he was able to face those demons. As long as he had his family, nothing could bring him down.


	2. A Week at the Office part 1

Unfortunately I don't own anything except any OC's. ENJOY!

* * *

 **Tuesday-** The morning sun was peeking through a gap in the curtains, right into Roy's face. He groaned and moved onto his stomach to further deepen his face into his pillow hoping to fall back to sleep. He heard his bedroom door open, footstep's slowly approached and the bed sagged under some additional weight, a soft voice accompanied the motion. "Roy, you need to wake up, I have breakfast ready. C'mon lazy bones." Riza was nudging his shoulder hoping to get a reaction. Roy knew she wasn't completely stable in her position, so he took this moment of her leaning over his shoulder to wrap his arm around her waist and spin her over him onto the bed and his lips made contact with hers.

"Now that's a wakeup call, after so many years I can never get used to seeing you Riza." Roy spoke while staring at his wife. He noticed that there was something off in her eyes, he also noticed it last night. A frown formed on his face.

"Spit it out Riza, I know that look and that means something is bothering you so come out with it." He brushed her shoulder length hair out of her eyes, she sighed at the fact that her husband could read her like a book.

"I thought I hid that well, nothing gets past you does it, I was just thinking." She looked away from her husband, obviously wanting to avoid speaking what was on her mind.

"Riza look at me." he touched her cheek and turned her towards him, staring into her brown eyes with his obsidian ones. "If something is bothering you I want you to talk to me about it, you know that you can talk to me right?"

"Of course I know that, I was just thinking after seeing Riley yesterday... was it really a good idea to teach her Flame Alchemy? We destroyed the secrets on my back for a reason, now I feel like we betrayed ourselves by teaching her. Did we do the right thing?" Riza looked right into Roy's eyes, he could see the turmoil behind them.

"Sometimes I regret it, but other times I'm glad, because now I know she can protect herself and those around her by knowing. I know we destroyed them in order to prevent another monster but I believe Riley will be wise when using Flame Alchemy and besides do you regret teaching her how to shoot a gun?" Roy raised an eyebrow, hoping to enlighten the now tense atmosphere.

A shadow of a smile formed on Riza's lips "I guess you're right about that, being in the military since she was eleven has made her as tough as nails, and being the Fuhrers daughter and all, knowing all this will protect her in the long run, huh? I suppose I'm just over thinking things."

"It's okay to think about these things Riza, you're just being a concerned mother, and you being my aide and bodyguard for so long has only made that protective side that much more prominent. We'll all be fine, don't start fretting yet."

Roy kissed his wife again before getting out of bed, he sat on the edge of the bed and stretched his muscles, as he did he felt two cold noses touch his knee and looked down and let a smile show as he pet his wife and daughters Shiba Inu's .

"Morning Hayate and Nokia, want to help me go wake up Riley?" Both dog's gave a yip in response and headed out the door, Nokia ran ahead of Hayate who walked beside Roy to his daughter's room down the hall. Nokia was scratching at his "Mommy's" door and whining. As Roy approached he got an idea to wake up Riley, since she was wasn't a morning person and took quite a bit of coaxing before getting out of bed. He walked to the door and grabbed the handle, inching it open, he peered inside to see that Riley was still asleep, a smirk made its way onto his face, Riza was approaching behind him to ask what he was up to, but then.

"Nokia, Hayate wakeup call!" Roy opened the door and let the dogs in before closing the door again and pressing his ear up against the wood. He heard Riley's laughter at the dog's antics and the smirk grew on his face.

"Riley it's time to wake up!" Roy yelled through the door.

"Yeah thanks for pointing out the obvious there dad!" Riley shouted back through the door.

Roy chuckled and turned away from the door to come face to face with Riza who had a stern look on her face.

"Is that any way to wake her up?" Riza questioned while placing her hands on her hips.

"Hey it was funny, and she deserved it for the comments she made yesterday, now let's go downstairs and eat, I'm starving." Roy walked past his wife while placing a kiss on her forehead. Riza just shook her head at her husband's actions and went downstairs to eat breakfast.

A couple of minutes later Riley came downstairs already wearing her uniform which consisted of the standard military blue pants, the christened "butt flap" (which her father refers to it as). She was wearing a brown turtle neck which hugged her athletic form perfectly and her issued blue coat was slung over her arm. Her hair was in her trade mark ponytail that cascaded over her right shoulder. Nokia and Hayate trotted along beside her like nothing was wrong.

"Well morning there Riley, did you have any troubles waking up this morning?" Roy spoke over his newspaper which hid his smug smirk.

"I actually had no trouble, thanks for the concern there dad." Riley said as she made her way to the kitchen to grab some breakfast and her large glass of milk, she couldn't start her day without it, before sitting down across from her father in the dining room. Riza came in a few minutes later with her breakfast and a manila folder, much to Roy's disappointment, the folder contained the day's itinerary.

"So you already know that Roy, you have a meeting with the Assembly to discuss some issues with the public from 09:00 to 12:00 hours, Riley you have to re-new your firearms license at 09:30 hours, after that it's the usual paperwork until 17:00. Do you think you can remember that?"

"Yes mom, it's not that complicated."

"I was actually talking to your father."

"Hey!"

"Alright let's go, you can't be late for this meeting Roy."

The family made their way towards the door. Riley and her father slipped on their military coats and put their silver pocket watches, signalling them as state alchemists in their pockets before dawning their black over coats and slipped on their boots. Riza adjusted her light brown blazer to make sure her neck was covered, shifted her thigh holster, and slipped on a pair of flats before leaving the house. The family walked across the property towards the center where Central Command was located, Nokia and Hayate calmly walking along beside their masters. As they approached the building a few soldier's could be seen milling about, they stopped and saluted when they saw the family. They all returned the salute as they made their way up the steps and into the building.

They walked to the office located on the top floor at the center of the building and hung their over coats up on some racks. Riley then left the room to go get coffee and tea for everyone. Riza went to go get the mornings paperwork while Roy made his way to his personal office to get his notes for the meeting. Once Roy walked out of his office, Riley approached him with his cup of coffee while she sipped her tea, and glancing around the room, every desk had a steaming mug on it with each person's coffee or tea made just the way they liked it.

"Jeez without you I don't think anybody would be able to start their morning in a decent mood." Roy spoke as he took a sip of his coffee, as per usual, it was made perfectly.

"It gives me something to do, it's no big deal really. I like doing it."

"Well in that case, thank you Riley."

Riley gave her father a glare "We are on duty, and you of all people know that if someone from the Assembly hears any of us call each other anything unprofessional, I could be kicked from the military and you could go through some serious trouble." She hissed over her tea.

As soon as Roy was about to retort , the office door opened and the rest of Roy's subordinates walked through the door, Lieutenant Colonel's Jean Havoc, Heymans Breda, and Captain Kain Feury. He glanced over at the trio and couldn't help but reminisce about the old days. He was still short a member, Lt. Colonel Vato Falman, who remained in the North.

Riley saw the men enter and left her father's side to go back over to her desk to go through any files that could be signed before she went to the range.

"Morning Chief, First Lady, Ry-ry." Riley gave Havoc a glare for using her nickname in the office.

"I mean General, man you are stubborn in the morning aren't you?" Havoc said as he gave his god-daughter a pat on the shoulder.

"Have you been sleeping under a rock for the past 15 years Havoc? She's always been stubborn." Breda spoke over his morning sandwich that he was currently in the middle of scoffing down. Riley walked up to him and gave him a flick upside the head, causing him to drop his sandwich on the table and shoot the now smirking Brigadier General a glare.

"Okay, before an outright brawl happens why don't we get to work?" Feury spoke over his radio that he was currently tuning from the night before. Riley and Breda were staring each other down while Havoc and Roy just watched from the side lines, Riza went through some files, completely used to the antics of the office. All of a sudden a growl was heard from under Breda's desk. Breda realized what produced the sound and immediately broke eye contact with Riley in favour of leaping onto the nearest filing cabinet, as Nokia and Hayate emerged from under the desks. Nokia walked up to the cabinets and planted himself down and whined at Breda while Hayate merely walked over to his mistress, having seen the same display from Breda for years because Nokia was still a pup and he didn't quite understand the situation.

"Uncle Breda, this is just plain pathetic. You know Hayate and Nokia would never hurt you." Riley walked over to the nearly year old pup and scooped him up in her arms, receiving a lick from the pup.

"No they are the very entities of Satan, keep them away!" Breda managed to speak over the amounts of sweat pouring down his face.

"Hey Riley, you were just telling me to watch my mouth when addressing people on a personal level, yet you just referred to Breda as uncle." Roy pointed out over his coffee mug.

"You were the one who started it, I merely did it out of habit." Riley said as she shrugged and made her way out of the office with Nokia still in her arms, and headed for the range.

"That's our Riley." Havoc spoke over his mug of coffee.

"Yes, yes indeed." Roy spoke as he gazed at the door where his daughter had just left. Riza just shook her head and went back to gathering any extra papers needed for the meeting, tuning out Breda's muttering about demonic dogs while Hayate remained by her side.

 **-/-/-**

Riley approached the range with Nokia trotting along beside her, keeping on alert in case someone made a wrong move against his mistress. Riley walked through the doors and made her way towards the locker room to grab her rifle then headed out to the range. Once she walked out she spotted the familiar figure with long brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail, writing something on a clipboard, clearly absorbed in what she was writing, Riley decided to have some fun.

"Attention Lt. Colonel Rebecca Havoc!" Riley spoke in her authoritative voice.

Rebecca spun around and snapped into a salute, unfortunately for her she slapped the pen she was writing with into her head, releasing a small hiss from her.

"Oh I am terribly sorry Aunt Becca! I didn't mean for that to happen! And I just called you aunt..." A slight pout appeared on Riley's face.

"It's quite alright General, it didn't draw blood but man did you scare me to death, don't ever use that voice, you sound like your parents."

"One day I sound like my mom, the other I sound like my dad. I really need to take more days off if I'm starting to sound like them." Riley said as she approached her god-mother.

"Yes, maybe you should. Anyways you ready to get re-evaluated? I don't even know why you have to take it Miss 98.7% shooting accuracy." Rebecca spoke in a sarcastic tone as she lead the way over to a vacant booth, while Riley un-holstered her two 0.45 calibre guns from her double back holster.

"Alright you remember the drill from last time correct? We will test your accuracy with your 0.45 calibre guns then we will test your rifle skills." Rebecca spoke as she went about setting up the targets. Shaking her head, she knew Riley didn't need to go through re-evaluations. Her mom taught her everything she knew on how to shoot a gun, and inherited her accuracy as well. What makes Riley's shooting skills unique however, is the fact that she couples it with alchemy, in that one hand points and shoots while the other snaps. Making her a valuable asset on the field.

"Okay fire when ready, your goal is to shoot the target, plain and simple." Rebecca watched with Nokia sitting by her side as Riley emptied her clip on the target, she didn't even look like she was aiming. Probably because she didn't really need too.

"Perfect score once again." Nokia gave a yip in congratulations as Riley went about setting up her rifle while Rebecca put the targets at 200 meters.

"So how's Joel doing these days? I haven't seen him in a while." Riley asked as she laid on her stomach and fired at the target, a perfect bulls eye.

"Nothing much is knew with him I suppose, I'm surprised you two haven't hung out in a while, you two are practically siblings." Rebecca smiled at the memories of her son playing with Riley in the parks around Central. They were always really close.

"Yeah I've been busy lately, the Assembly keeps asking me to assist in investigations, so I never have any time for myself," Riley took another shot, another bulls eye. "I miss hanging out with Joel and everyone else, I feel like a normal teen when I do." Another shot, once again, another bulls eye.

"No offence, but with a shot like that, the fact that you rival your father with your skill with Flame Alchemy, _and_ the fact that you beat Edward Elric for the title of youngest State Alchemist by 6 months, you're not exactly normal to begin with." Rebecca spoke with a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"I guess you're right about that, thanks." Riley got up from her position and gave Rebecca a smirk.

"Oh before I forget, are you still drawing by any chance?" Rebecca asked

"Yeah I still draw," she patted the side of her coat where an inner pocket was located "I always have my sketch book on me, why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking that maybe, if you get the chance of course, that you could possibly..."

"What do you need me to draw?" Riley spoke, cutting of Rebecca.

"I was just wondering if you could draw something for a gift, you're the best drawer I know," Rebecca leaned in and lowered her tone to a whisper "even better then Armstrong."

"Wow I'm better than Armstrong's drawing skills that have been passed down from generation to generation!" Riley spoke while striking a pose, causing Rebecca to stifle a laugh while Nokia was barking happily and prancing around Riley's legs.

"General you are something else, so can I let you know when I need you to help with my present?"

"Sure you know where I'll be. So did I pass my re-evaluation?" Riley asked while feigning a worried expression.

"Well I'm terribly sorry to inform you Brigadier General , but your accuracy score has improved from 98.7% to 99.3%. You're catching up to your mom's score." Rebecca spoke over her clipboard, recording the results while Riley gave Nokia a scratch behind the ears.

"My mom's score is a 99.8%. I'm pretty sure she has the best marksman title under wraps. Since I'm done here, care to join me back to the office? Unless you have other duties to attend to."

"No I'm okay here, if they need my assistance they can come find me themselves." Rebecca gave Riley a smile, as both soldiers and dog headed back to the Fuhrer's office.

 **-/-/-/-/-**

 **Wednesday-** "11:30, only thirty more minutes until lunch. Is it just me or do the work days start to feel longer?" Havoc questioned over his piles of paperwork.

"Maybe it's the fact that you're older that you notice how slow the days are, and the fact that you spent half your life smoking, so you notice how your life is winding down" Riley spoke while continuing her paperwork.

"Havoc you just got your butt handed to you on a silver platter." Breda gave a smile to a scowling Havoc. Feury could be seen chuckling but immediately stopped once Havoc's glare was aimed at him.

"Sometimes I wonder who the actual adults in this office are." Riley spoke while signing her name on a document.

"That's easy it's none of you." The soldiers turned their heads to the voice coming from the door and immediately snapped into a salute.

"Grumman sir, we weren't expecting to see you until after lunch." Riley spoke to her great-grandfather.

"At ease everyone, I'm not even in the military anymore. The salutes are unnecessary." Grumman spoke as he walked further into the room and everyone returned to their seats. "Can I not come in early and see my favourite great-granddaughter while she is at work?" Grumman questioned while giving Riley a quick kiss on the head.

"For one I'm your only great-granddaughter and two you're here mostly so that you can kick my father's butt at chess." Riley stood from her desk to collect her papers and give Grumman a glance. He didn't seem to acknowledge her since Nokia made himself known and was currently taking the former Fuhrer's attention.

"Yes, yes very good Riley, now I assume your mom and father are in his office?" Grumman made his way to the office, completely ignoring the death glare that was boring into his back.

"Yes go right on in." Riley spoke as she sat back down at her desk.

"Oh Riley remind me when I'm done to talk to you about a boy I met who I believe will make excellent boyfriend material." Grumman gave her a wave and made his way into the Fuhrer's office. Leaving a fuming Riley and 3 adult men holding their snickers.

"You enjoying the show?" Riley asked as she turned to her _uncle's,_ her right trigger finger was twitching on the desk _._ When her finger twitched it meant she was mad, if her thumb, pointer, and middle finger were rubbing together. Run.

"Yes, yes we are." Havoc spoke over his chuckling but he caught sight of her finger twitching and shut his mouth quickly.

"I'm taking an early lunch break, I do not want to be here when he finishes that chess game because I don't want to hear about this guy who is boyfriend material, which I don't need any way and I don't want to hear my dad's mumbling over how many times he's lost to him."

"Is it ok if we join you too? We would rather not be caught at the receiving end of your father's mumbling." Feury asked, while adjusting his glasses.

"Sure, I don't see a problem. C'mon Nokia." Riley spoke as she got up from her seat and made her way towards the door, Nokia right by her side. The men noticed that her finger stopped twitching and relaxed significantly. Though Riley has never fully lost her temper, no one wanted to be on the receiving end if they pushed her over the edge.

 **-/-/-/-**

"Ah there's my favourite grandson-in-law! I see you decided to keep your subordinates in the adjoining office instead of giving each one of their own like any other Fuhrer." Grumman spoke while twiddling his mustache.

"For one I'm your only grandson-in-law, which I didn't even know was a word until now. Secondly I'm a sucker for nostalgia." Roy shrugged while he stood and gave Grumman a pat on the back.

"Never change my boy, anyways where is my Riza. I haven't seen her in a while." A slight frown formed on Grumman's face as he glanced around the room.

"She stepped out of the office for an early lunch break with Rebecca Havoc, she'll be back before our game ends surely." Roy gave a reassuring smile as he lead the former Fuhrer over to the already set up chess set.

"I see Riley has become accustomed to the title of Brigadier General. How long has she held the position?"

"She has only been a Brigadier General for the past month. She was a Colonel for a year and a half. The Assembly has been very rewarding for her contributions to the military. They take great pride in having her as a soldier." Roy commented while studying the board.

"Ah yes I forgot the Assembly deals with Riley's promotions and her assignments, prevents favouritism correct?" Grumman raised an eyebrow at Roy's move, contemplating how to counter it.

"That is correct, she may serve as my direct subordinate but her promotions as well as a lot of her missions are overseen by the Assembly. That was part of the deal of her joining the military. She can work with me and report to me but if necessary they can go over my head if the need presents itself."

"It does make it easier to watch over her though doesn't it?" Grumman snuck a glance at Roy.

"Yes it does." Roy kept his attention on the chess board, trying to plan his next move.

"I've also noticed that she is growing to look much like her mother, and she inherited her sharp mind and tongue from both parents." Grumman raised a eyebrow at Roy, who looked up and gave a smirk.

"Yes she certainly has, she unfortunately got our stubbornness as well and is the most stubborn person you could ever meet." Roy returned his attention to the board.

As soon as Grumman was about to continue the conversation a knock was heard on Roy's door and without needing an invite, Riza opened the door.

"Who is the most stubborn person you could ever meet? Certainly not me I hope." Riza walked over and gave her grandfather a quick kiss on the head before moving over to her husband, intending on giving him a peck on the cheek but as she bent over he whipped his head around and met her halfway, causing them to kiss fully on the lips. Riza gave Roy a glare, he returned it with a smirk. Grumman just watched them with a smile on his face.

"Glad to see your relationship is going strong. Now if only Riley would meet..."

"Sir, are you trying to set Riley up with someone. Again?" Riza shot her grandfather a look that made Roy and Grumman pale significantly.

"I may have mentioned it before I came in here." Grumman scratched the back of his head and returned his focus to the chess game.

"That explains why no one was in the office when I returned." Riza gave an exasperated sigh, Riley was stubborn especially when it came to her social life. She got along better with adults than people her own age, so she tends to get a bit edgy around the subject, especially if someone is trying to set her up with someone else.

"I sure hope this doesn't come back to bite you in the butt sir, I'd miss not having you come every Wednesday for our match." Roy spoke while continuing the game.

A smirk made its way onto Grumman's face. "Yes my boy it would be, oh and by the way. Checkmate."

"Damn it!" Roy sat back and sighed. He lost again!

Riza just shook her head and went back to the outer office to collects everyone's finished papers. Grumman marked down his win in his notebook while Roy packed up the game.

"Did Riley happen to give you her glare? She isn't called Flame Eye for nothing." Roy smirked as he watched Grumman pale slightly at the memory.

"She may have, but I didn't dare look at her directly, she could melt steel with that glare. But I still stand by my decision to give her that name. Both figuratively and literally." Grumman suppress a slight shiver at the memory of Riley's State Alchemist Exam.

"Yes well she is certainly living up to her name. Now if you will excuse me it's time for my lunch break." Roy stood and gave Grumman a handshake while escorting him out of the office. Grumman gave Riza a peck on the cheek before leaving.

"Care to join me for a trip to the Mess Hall for lunch, dear?" Roy asked from the door.

"I'm okay for now, you go on ahead. I have a couple things I need to finish in here." Riza gave her husband a small smile. He returned it before leaving the office and heading for the Mess hall.

 _"I sure hope everyone is behaving themselves. I don't want a repeat of last year's food fight. So much paperwork..."_ Roy shivered at the memory, but thought better of it. He knew his team was more mature than that.

 **-/-/-/-**

"Bet you can't do that again." Havoc spoke over the table, staring down the Brigadier General who was currently pushing around some grapes with her fork.

"I don't know, I don't want to crush your ego any further." She glanced up and let a smirk appear on her face, further agitating the blond man in front of her.

"C'mon Riley just one more time! Put those men in their places!" The supporting banter came from Lt. Colonel Maria Brosh. Her husband First Lieutenant Denny Brosh sat beside Havoc across the table in the Mess hall . The group was having a little battle of the sexes.

"What's in it for me if I win?" Riley questioned while letting a smug smile play on her face.

"If you can land this you can take all the money in my wallet and I'll do half your paper work for the next week. But you have to land this perfectly. You in?" Havoc leaned into the table staring down Riley. She leaned in and returned the stare full force.

"Bring it." Riley situated a grape on the handle of her fork. The points were facing her. Before anyone knew she brought her fist down on the points, launching the grape into the air behind her. She then leaned back and put her foot on the table to push herself and her chair back. She put her weight on the back of the chair causing it to tip backwards. As the grape made its decent Riley was able to catch it in her mouth before the chair slammed into the floor, Riley used her momentum to somersault backwards from the chair and stand upright with the grape in her mouth. The Brosh's, Feury, Breda, and Armstrong who were sitting at the table erupted into applause, except for Havoc who reached into his pocket to grab his wallet and hand over his money to Riley, mumbling as he did so. Nokia, who was napping under the table, didn't even flinch at the sudden rise in noise.

"It's a good thing you don't usually carry that much money on you Havoc, otherwise you might be broke from a 15 year old showing you up." Riley spoke while fixing her chair and gave Maria a high five for her remark.

Everyone at the table burst into fits of laughter. The entire Mess hall turned to look and upon realizing the cause of the large amounts of laughter they immediately returned to their previous conversations. The going's on of what was dubbed the unofficial "Mustang Table" was nothing out of the ordinary, and if the table wasn't making noise, then they knew something was wrong.

"If you weren't my god-daughter I'd knock some sense into you." Havoc threatened though it didn't meet his eyes.

"How about a classic arm wrestle to settle this once and for all." Riley proposed. "Unless you're to chicken to be beaten by a girl?" Maria had to stifle a laugh at the men's reactions, her husband was also chuckling. Riley knew what exactly to do to push the men's buttons, and it always made for quite the show.

"Are you going to back down Havoc? What do you have to lose?" Breda gave Havoc a pat on the shoulder, silently encouraging him to accept the bet.

"If you're so confident, you face her then Breda." Havoc shot his friend a glare, challenging his manhood.

"Sure I'll do it. This will be fun." Breda rolled up the sleeve of his jacket and took Riley's out-stretched hand. The rest of the hall decided to join in on the action. Meaning all the men were cheering on Breda while all the women were cheering on Riley.

Armstrong initiated the countdown. "On the count of three. 1... 2... 3!"

Breda and Riley both clenched their hands together trying to out muscle the other. The Mess hall was filled with everyone's yells of encouragement. Breda started to look a bit strained, Riley didn't even bat an eyelash.

"C'mon Breda you can do it! Don't be such a wimp and put some muscle into it!" Havoc was screaming from Breda's side. But Breda continued to stare straight ahead.

"Riley for the sake of my ego, at least look like you're trying." Breda spoke in a slight whisper.

"Oh trust me, I'm not." Riley spoke while continuing to hold Breda's gaze.

The cheers of their fellow officers continued to roar around them. Breda's arm began to shake. A few moments later Riley's began to shake as well, only slightly. It looked like it would become a stale mate but then the door burst open and a loud voice sliced through the crowd.

"What on Earth is going on here?!"

Everyone turned their gaze from the arm wrestling to look at the slightly confused Fuhrer. Everyone became still as statues. Riley peeked out of the corner of her eye to Breda who looked pale upon glancing at her father. A cheeky smirk made its way onto her face, she used this moment to use all her strength and slam Breda's hand down on the table. She didn't once break eye contact with her father.

"Should I even guess at who's idea this was?" Roy asked while raising an eyebrow. Everyone in the room immediately shot their arms out and pointed to Riley. She immediately let go of Breda's hand and straightened her back slightly. Those that were closest to her could hear her mutter "Traitors".

"I see, now everyone return to your duties. Brigadier General come with me please." Roy spoke in a calm manor. His eyes never tearing away from his daughter.

Everyone moved swiftly as they made their way back to their offices. Nokia got up and followed Riley as she approached her father. She could hear the voices of her subordinates as she walked. "I think he might actually bring the hammer down on her." Denny spoke. "I think you might be right, he looks calm but his eyes say something completely different." Maria spoke.

Riley kept her back straight as she approached her father, her calm mask hiding her true feelings. Roy turned around and immediately began to walk back to his office. Riley kept her eyes down as she walked behind her father. _"I'm going to get chewed out for this for sure. Why am I such a child at times. He doesn't need the added stress of his subordinates slacking off."_ Riley became caught up in her own personal scolding that she didn't realize her father had stopped walking.

"General." Riley immediately stopped walking almost causing Nokia to slam into her legs, she raised her head staring straight into her father's eyes. She noted how the angered look in his eyes all but vanished. He turned to fully face her.

"How much did you get?" Roy asked while leaning closer to be eyelevel with his daughter.

He was met with a very confused look from her. "Pardon?"

"How much did you con off of Havoc?"

"A few cenz and he has to do half my paperwork for a week." Riley reached into her pocket and produced the money, showing her father her earnings.

A smirk appeared on his face as he straightened his posture and turned to begin walking, but instead of heading right to his office he turned left towards the entrance of headquarters. Riley stayed where she stood, trying to comprehend why he wasn't mad. Roy stopped and turned when he didn't hear his daughter following him.

"Aren't you coming?" Roy asked. He was met with a raised eyebrow from his daughter.

"I still haven't eaten and I was in the mood for soup from that restaurant down the road. Care to join me, but you're buying." A laugh could be heard laced through his tone.

Riley smiled as she shoved her money in her pocket and caught up to walk beside her father out of headquarters. She then began to tell her father of her little Mess hall antics as they walked to lunch.

* * *

I hope the characters are well, in character! Review guys and let me know!


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